The Backwoods of Canada

Being Letters From the Wife of An Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America

The toils, troubles, and satisfactions of pioneer life are recorded with charm and vivacity in this portrayal of pioneer life by Catharine Parr Traill, who, like her sister Susanna Moodie, left the comforts of genteel English society for the rigours of a new, young land.

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The letters of Catherine Parr Traill are particularly vivid in her description of the natural world (flora and fauna) and overall shows a resourceful woman adapting to her new life as a settler in 1835.
This book is still to this day an important source of information about early Canada, most notably the area around Peterborough, where she lived for 60 years. But it was also a practical guide for emigrants in the 1830's with very specific information about new home construction, cultivating the land, hardships faced and an entire chapter on emigrants best suited for Canada and the qualities requisite to ensure success. She delves into the everyday life of a new emigrant, including the difficulties of homesteading (e.g. two days travel to buy food, 7-9 years before the stumps decay: all very interesting information. One of Traill's strengths was her very detailed descriptions of numerous species of animals, tress and plants, especially flowers, one of the things she was passionate about.
Over time Catherine Parr Traill came to "love Canada" and "achieved a local, if not Canadian identity, a sense of self and place."